Another Maurecia
by LoudAutomata16
Summary: All it took was one accident to change an entire relationship (Todd X Maurecia)


**It's actually been a while since I watched Wayside, but if there's one thing that stuck with me (besides the theme song) it was the Todd X Maurecia ship. So I decided to give writing it a shot… It was fun, I have to say...**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Hey Todd!"

The boy in question, Todd, was busily tapping away at his phone, trying to organize a nice song playlist to listen to on the kindergarten bus, when he heard the familiar greeting. Before he could say anything or even raise his head, a sharp pain filled his arm as Maurecia's fist came crashing into it.

"Ow, Maurecia," he complained, putting away his phone to rub his pained arm. He turned to the tomboyish girl, dressed in her usual skating gear, who simply flashed him an innocent smile and wide, adoring eyes.

"How's it going, Todd?"

"Don't try to change the subject. You punched me… again. It really hurts," he ended with a bit of a whine. Maurecia waved her hand dismissively, which prompted the young man to just give a loud sigh. He wasn't going to get through to her, and, if he was being honest, he couldn't stay mad at her when she gazed at him like he was the best thing in the world.

"Oh, I wasn't changing the topic," she insisted, before her mouth curled into a playful grin, "But now I am. Remember that agreement we had? Where if I could jump twenty buses on my skates, you'd give me a kiss?"

"Um… no?"

"Well, look outside," Maurecia ignored him as she pointed out the window. Todd pressed up against the glass and gasped as he two large, wooden ramps, with an enormous gap between them. And in between those two ramps were, as she said, twenty buses. Wait…

"That's nineteen buses," Todd pointed out, "And a cow. Did you replace one of the buses with a cow?"

"Yep. And I'm going to jump them all," Maurecia said with a bright beaming smile, again ignoring what her 'suitor' was saying. She grabbed him by his hand, blushing slightly as she felt his soft palm against her own. "Come on!" she said excitedly.

"Wait, Maurecia, I'm not sure this is a good ide-AAAAAAAH!" he screamed as she began rushing down the hall with the velocity her skates provided. Todd's head collided with the wall once or twice, and things only got worse when they went down the stairs.

 _If you weren't my friend, I'd be so much angrier right now,_ Todd thought. Truth be told… it wasn't a _terrible_ thing to be holding hands with her. He watched her blue ponytail bounce up and down and side to side with every step that passed, and he couldn't help but give a weak smile at how enthusiastic she was about the whole thing.

The smile faded, though, when she threw open the door to the outside and tossed him out onto the curb. He groaned as he tried to stand, but thankfully, Dana and Myron were there to help him up.

"Thanks. But, uh, why are you two here?"

"Todd… everyone's here to watch," Myron said with glee as he pointed at several of their classmates. Sharie, Jenny, the three Erics… even Mrs. Jewls herself was watching with giddy anticipation.

"Mrs. Jewls, don't you think you should stop this? Maurecia could hurt herself," Todd said.

"Oh, she'll be fine," the pink haired teacher dismissed, watching as the tomboy began backing away from the ramp with a sharp grin on her face.

"But Mrs. Jewls…"

The older woman seemed to frown at him, and pulled out a small notebook and made a tick in it with her dark blue pen. "Keep it up, Todd, and I'll have you sent back on the kindergarten bus before Maurecia even puts one wheel on that ramp."

She then put a finger on her chin and hummed. "Then again, if I do that, Maurecia might delay the whole thing until tomorrow…"

"Never mind," the redhead said as he rolled his eyes and headed back to stand next to Myron, who was loudly stuffing his face with popcorn. Todd grimaced as butter and corn flew from his vicinity, before Myron took a large gulp.

"So… you excited to kiss Maurecia?"

"What? No, never!" Todd's face flushed bright red, and hammered the point with a frantic waving of his arms.

"So you want to watch her crash and burn? I guess that would be cathartic after all the times she punched you."

"Not that either, Myron. She's still my friend. I… I don't want to her to hurt herself," he said as he looked back to the blue haired girl. She saw him staring back and blew him an air kiss, which Todd caught and threw to the ground.

"Well, you have to admit… after all the pain she's caused you, it would be a little funny to see the same happen to her."

"N-No, it wouldn't," he insisted, though in his mind, he was already revisiting all the punches and blows she had given him before. He felt his heart twist a little in anger as he remembered the time she punched him down a short flight of stairs. And the time she knocked him into the bird exhibit at the zoo. And the time she pummeled him with paint on her hands, and ending up ruining his clothes. His eyes squinted now, his teeth grinded, and his hands were clenched into little fists.

And somewhere, in the deepest, darkest recesses of his mind… a nasty thought brewed. He wasn't proud of it, and he immediately regretted thinking it, but it was a slightly sweet taste of bitter rage that he couldn't help but indulge in as Maurecia finished her preparations…

 _Wouldn't it be nice if Maurecia got hurt? Really, really hurt? And she'd finally be just a bit nicer, because she finally understands how much it hurts…_

The tomboy caught one last glance of her beloved Todd, though his stiff stance threw her slightly off balance. Perhaps that's why when, she finally ran and rolled up to the ramp, she was able to leap high into the air… soar like a mighty eagle…

For about twelve buses until she fell.

And Todd was the first to react in horror as he heard a loud _SMACK_ resound throughout the lot.

* * *

"It's my fault…"

It was raining hard the day after the fact, but Todd and the rest of the students of Wayside found themselves forced to attend school regardless. He was a little thankful for that, as it gave him an opportunity to sit at his desk and twiddle his thumbs with guilt as he spilled out his worries to Dana, sitting on the desk next to him and listening carefully.

"From what I gather, it's not your fault," she admitted with a shrug, "You simply blame yourself for having aggressive thoughts… brought on by Myron, of course."

The fat boy's ears burned as he heard his name, but chose not to acknowledge it.

"Don't worry about it too much," Dana said, clapping her hand on Todd's skinny shoulder, "Maurecia is a tough girl. She'll survive. Now, if this was back in her prim and proper days, she would be in trouble."

"Oh yeah… you mean like how she was a lot more girly back in…" the boy swallowed before he quickly spat out "Mrs. Gorf's days…"

Dana nodded. "The gentle girly-girl of those days would've been something to worry about, but not our Maurecia. She'll be alright. And I doubt she'd blame you for a thought she doesn't even know about…" she ended with a little snort, before tensing up for her classic catchphrase " _Enough with the fun!_ "

"Well, I'm not having any fun," Todd grumbled, his eyes rolling with annoyance.

"You will in a minute, Todd," Mrs. Jewls practically sang as she entered the classroom, "Because we have a new student today. Please introduce yourself to the class, dear."

Following Mrs. Jewls, a young girl stepped into the class. She was a beautiful girl, skipping to the front of the class besides their teacher. And when he saw her, Todd's jaw dropped to the floor. Her hair was more prim and cared-for, with a pink bow adorned on top. Her clothes were more modest and feminine, being a light shade of cream with a pink skirt. Her general posture was a lot more gentle. But Todd knew who he was looking at.

"M-MAURECIA?!"

"Oh, do you know our new student, Todd?" Mrs. Jewls asked.

"Of course I do. Everyone here knows her. That's Maurecia, our friend. Somehow, she isn't hurt."

"Really? Where?" One of the Erics asked, as nearly everyone else in the class began looking around. Todd was initially confused, and he pointed back at the blue haired girl in front.

"There. That's Maurecia."

"Why, yes, my name is Maurecia," the girl said with a Southern accent, "And I would like to consider everyone a fantastic friend of a friend…"

"What happened to your helmet? And skates? Are… are you alright?" he asked, his voice flooded with panic and concern.

"Oh, I see the problem," Myron immediately started, and Todd instinctively groaned, "Todd's confused between the new Maurecia and the old Maurecia."

"No, I'm not. That's Maur-"

"TODD! I insist you stop wasting class time with this nonsense at once, or you will be sent home on the kindergarten bus!" Mrs. Jewls threatened, putting her hands on her hips and glaring with rage. Todd sighed, resigned to whatever typical Wayside oddness was occurring. "And since you seem so interested in the new Maurecia, I'm assigning you to be her partner to help her around the school."

"Am I seriously the only one who sees that she's the same?" he tried feebly, one last time.

"No. I can see she's the same," said the normally quiet Sharrie, before immediately falling back asleep. Todd scowled, but appreciated the little support he got nonetheless. At least he now he knew he wasn't crazy. It was hard to pull the wool over Sharrie's eyes (ironic considering they were usually closed) as Todd recalled how only she was on his side during the Myron/Normy fiasco a while back…

"Welp, it's nice to meet you, Todd," the now feminine Maurecia said as she approached him. She extended her hand for a dainty handshake, but Todd immediately flinched, covering himself up with his arms.

He waited for the blow to come, but uncovered himself as he saw Maurecia staring at him with concern. Her eyes were the same, but this time they were more… soft. Gentle, even. Todd giggled a bit awkwardly before accepting her handshake, at which point she beamed brightly at him.

 _Alright… I can work with this. I guess Maurecia's got some trauma that's made her go back to her feminine self… hey, this is what I wanted. Now I won't get punched by her ever again…_

Despite Todd knowing how happy he should've been about that… he had to wonder why his heart seemed to flutter with sadness and longing…

* * *

"And this is the cafeteria," Todd said as he gave Maurecia a tour of the school she should have recognized. Maurecia was radiating with a wonderful smile the entire time, which only slightly wavered when she saw an unusual sight.

"Is that a… dead rat?"

"You'll get used to Sammy," Todd dismissed as he nudged her towards the hallways. The two went into the halls again, and Todd was surprised to find that they were alone. No sign of child, adult, dead rat or cabbage to be seen. As the two of them walked along, Maurecia skipping every other step, Todd decided now was a good time to ask about things. "So, do you really not remember a thing?"

"Remember what?" she asked.

"About this school. About our classmates. About… me…"

"I'm really sorry, but I feel you have me confused for someone else," she insisted, drawing a heavy sigh from Todd.

"Have you… ever tried skating?"

Maurecia shook her head, ponytail following her head, and Todd nodded. "I'll stop with the interrogation now. Just focus on the tour."

"It's quite alright. If you mind me asking a few questions myself; can I ask about this other girl you confused me with? Maurecia?"

"Sure thing… Maurecia," he shrugged as they turned the corner, "Maurecia was… is, I don't know… one of my friends. Close friend, I guess. Of course, she always wanted to be more," Todd said, his cheeks going red as he realized he was essentially spilling to the girl herself, "And she was, uh, pretty violent about it. She always gave me these punches. They hurt a lot," he rubbed his arm out of habit, and Maurecia seemed to grow a little frown.

"Sounds like she was a bully."

"You're not… _too_ off the mark," he admitted with a chuckle, "But she was also a nice person, to an extent. I didn't… hate being around her. Since she isn't here…"

He couldn't help but feel his lip quiver at that statement.

"… I won't lie. I wouldn't have put up with it if I didn't… also feel the same way…"

He watched her expression carefully. Part of him suspected this was a ploy of hers to get him to confess how much he liked her (was Maurecia even smart enough to come up with that?) but that part of him crashed and dissipated when he saw her expression remained unchanged. There was no wide smile bursting onto her face, no joyful jump into the air and no cry of "OH, TODD!" with Maurecia sweeping him up for a crushing hug. All he got was a confused, yet oddly kind, "Oh," from the young lady.

"Oh."

That's all he would get from her.

That crushed him a little. "And here I thought I would never miss those punches…" he whispered to himself.

"What was that?"

"Uh… nothing. I just realized… I haven't really been welcoming to you, have I? Well, I guess that… I should move on from the past Maurecia and focus on you for now. Get to know you better, you know?"

Maurecia's eyes brightened, and she clasped her hands and placed them on her chest. "Why, Todd, I'd hate to intrude on what you and your bully friend had, but gosh, I'd like to get to know you better. All of y'all. Especially that one funny boy that looked like an elf."

"Stephen? Yeah, the reason why he wears that elf suit… it's actually really funny…" Todd said.

Maurecia was already giggling, and her high pitched giggles had an almost rhythmic tune to it. It was a delight to listen to, and Todd was pretty sure he saw some birds in the window fly towards the ledge to stand and whistle alongside the wonderful sound. Todd, in spite of himself, gave a hesitant smile.

 _Time to get to know girly girl Maurecia, I guess…_

* * *

Maurecia, for her part, seemed to adjust well to her new life. Unbound by the shackles of her past reputation, she was a completely new person to the ecosystem of Wayside. And everyone noticed. She was a fairly popular girl, finding herself more in line with the Bebe's of her class than the Jenny's, though she made friends with both girls. As for the boys… well, Maurecia would often find herself besieged with several romantic advances. Myron was a notable case, using whatever scraps of power he came into to try and court her. And, of course, Stephen, Benjamin and two of the Erics also had their sights set on her.

Of the classroom, the fact remained that only Todd and Sharie knew the truth about Maurecia, though in the case of the sleepy girl, it didn't matter, as long as it didn't disturb her naps. Todd was a different beast, though.

Much like the other boys, he couldn't deny that he had… feelings for her. If he was honest with himself, he could've admitted some of those were transferred from the memory of the more sporty Maurecia. But there was something a bit more hollow about it… it wasn't the same person he was friends with. And while they did pass by each other, their eyes sometimes meeting with a spark that lit both of their faces on fire, Todd had grown to miss Maurecia's brand of rough love.

Was he a bad person for that? Was he a weirdo? Did he have things completely wrong. He didn't know, and honestly, didn't care. All that mattered to him was that Maurecia was gone, replaced by Maurecia. And that left a little hole in him.

But as luck or fate or God would have it… someone noticed.

"Todd?"

The young man looked up from his handheld PSP69, and saw it was none other than Maurecia herself, hovering above him with a sweet smile. It still took Todd a moment to recognize her, the lack of helmet always a huge distraction. "Oh, hi Maurecia."

The girl clasped her arm, giving Todd an oddly serious look. She seemed to heave a weighty breath, before she asked him;

"Todd, can I ask you to be completely honest with me?"

"S-Sure, Maurecia, I don't see why not…"

"Do you miss your sweet bully belle friend?" Maurecia asked, her voice drawling with pure Southern.

"Yeah, I do. Of course I do."

"That's… that's not what I meant," she said, "I can't help but feel like you're… bothered by a more ladylike figure taking the role of your Maurecia."

Before Todd could raise any concerns, Maurecia put a slender finger to his lips, silencing him. _Her skin is pretty soft. She must've been moisturizing it lately,_ Todd realized with a flush of his cheeks.

"So I propose this; I will, for today, abandon my gentle and tender ways and adopt the wild ways of your Maurecia…"

Her eyes sparkled and her smile was wide as she gazed at him with affection. Todd gulped, his entire face burning red, but all he could do was look away. "Maurecia, I couldn't ask you to…"

"Nonsense. I want to, Todd. It's just for one day. Look," she said as she raised her hand into the air. She smacked him lightly with her palm, and she immediately backed away in horror.

"Oh, I'm so…"

Todd chuckled as he raised his hand to silence her.

"Maurecia would've done a hard punch. And she wouldn't have acknowledged it afterwards."

"I see…"

For the first time in days, Todd felt a sharp pain in his arm. He yelped as he pulled away from her punch. Maurecia, though… she was smiling with glee. "I feel like her already, friend. Now what?"

"I guess, if you have to, just get in the mindset of someone who would punch the person they like," Todd offered, "And constantly try to get my attention, I guess."

Maurecia playfully threw up a solider salute.

"Can do."

And then she punched him again. Just for the sake of it.

And just like that, for the rest of the day, it was almost like Todd had the old Maurecia back. Todd would just be walking down the lunch line, when he would hear "Oh, Todd~" (albeit in a more Southern twang) and received a hit from Maurecia's slightly inflated fist. She'd shower him with the usual adoring eyes that she did, and for a few hours, Todd felt… complete. Like something that had been snatched away from him had finally been restored. It felt great. It felt whole. It felt right.

Notice that it was 'for a few hours.'

Afterwards, Todd felt something deep down. What Maurecia was doing was nice but… it wasn't her. The sweet girly girl was putting on the mask of a more energetic and physical person, all to make him happy. He appreciated the gesture, and was sure that he would be her friend for as long as she chose to hang around but… it was hollow. It wasn't the Maurecia he knew. It wasn't the Maurecia he lo- was on good terms with…

That realization led him to a loud sigh. Mrs. Jewls turned away from the board, fire in her eyes. "Todd, you know the rules; no loud sighs. Pack your things, you're going home on the kindergarten bus."

"At least that's still normal," he mumbled unhappily to himself. He slowly made his way out of the classroom, and down the many, many floors of this strange and surreal building he called a school. As he was about to board the bus, waiting only for the smaller children around him to hop in before he did, he heard a distant cry of "Wait, Todd!"

He turned, and received a half-hearted smack. "Hooey, I am pooped," Maurecia said, "If you'll pardon my Canadian, of course."

"Maurecia? Why are you coming on the kindergarten bus?"

"I sighed a bit loudly as well," she winked, before pointing at the steps into the bus, "Shall we?"

The two inched their way through hordes of little people, before finally making their way to the back seat. Todd tossed his back to the corner, while Maurecia gently set her things besides her, giving a beam of pride when she was done.

For the longest time, the only talk going on was between the kindergartners themselves, though it was more like a non-stop orchestra of screaming and yelling. Todd and Maurecia were content to sit in quiet, both looking out of their respective windows. Occasionally, Maurecia would look back at her classmate, and find him staring at her with a hopeful longing. Her gaze would force him to look back out the window, and she would return to her side. She sighed, the cold air from her mouth leaving a foggy residue on the glass.

Finally, it was Todd's stop. With only a small gesture of a shake, he stood from his seat, slinging his backpack over his shoulders and made his way outside. As he turned to watch the bus ride off, he was surprised to see Maurecia following after him. "I guess you have something important to say to me..."

"Todd... I... I want to apologize..."

His eyes widened, and a frown deepened on his face. Apologize for what? She didn't do anything wrong. On the contrary, she had been nothing more than an angel all day, indulging him and his past experience with her... or someone like her, he didn't know. "What for?"

"I couldn't be like the other Maurecia. That sweet apple of your eye..."

Todd blushed, and grit his teeth as he said, "She... she's not the 'apple of my-'"

Maurecia cocked her head knowingly, and Todd promptly shut up.

"Look, it's really not your fault. It's... it's mine," he let out, "She got hurt, last time I saw her. For a stunt she wanted to do for me. Because she liked me. And I... all I could think about was how karmic it would be if... if she got hurt. I got my wish and..." his voice nearly broke as he looked up at her, "I think I lost her for good."

"Oh Todd," she said, opening her arms wide. Todd sniffled hesitantly, before getting a bit closer to her. She latched out onto him and hugged him tightly, allowing the young man a little comfort to stand on.

"I miss her, okay? I thought I wouldn't, but it's... it's just been killing me. I... I never even got to fulfill our promise."

"What promise?"

"She said that... if she could make the jump... I'd have to give her a kiss in return. But right now, I'd kiss her regardless. I'd do whatever she wants, just so I could have her back."

"Well... I know me and the other Maurecia aren't the same but... m-maybe you could... kiss me..."

Todd stared at her blankly, and Maurecia gave him a sympathetic smile. "If it makes you feel better... after all, we're just on this road together. Growing up and helping each other deal with the pain," she giggled softly, "And we do have the same name. Just imagine that I was her."

"I... I..." Todd swallowed, biting down on his lip with his buck teeth. Her smooth and sensuous lips were right there, and they were Maurecia's after all... and if he did cheat her out of her rightful win... wasn't this a good substitute?

A shaky arm moved towards her azure hair, stroking it calmly with his fingers. He stared into her eyes, finding the kind of warmth and support he needed right then. A flicker of Maurecia was in her eyes. The old Maurecia. The Maurecia he wished he could... The Maurecia he wished he could say "I love you" to.

"I love you, Maurecia," he said regardless, planting his lips onto hers. Their mouths pressed together, achieving a sort of harmony, and Todd closed his eyes tightly as he felt Maurecia against body. The proper young lady did the same, shutting her eyes as she enjoyed the sensation of the boy she had grown to love over the last few days...

Wait, over the last few days? She had always loved him. Ever since he transferred to Wayside. Wait... what was going on?

Maurecia opened her eyes, and found the boy of her dreams kissing her passionately on the lips. Her face felt like an exploding star as she yanked her arm back and _BOOM!_

"T-Todd!" Maurecia cried, a Southern accent missing from her voice, "What are you doing? What am I doing here? What... Why am I wearing these clothes? Where's my helmet?"

At first, Todd cringed from the pain in his arm, until he truly focused on what she was saying. "M-Maurecia?" he inquired, timidly, as if he was worried he could scare her off...

Maurecia stared at him, before blushing and giving him a sultry smile. "I didn't say we had to stop~"

"It's... it's you," he said breathlessly, and a look of confusion returned to the tomboy.

"Uh yeah, of course it's me. Who else wo-"

Whatever she was going to say... it was cut off when Todd practically crushed her with a warm bear hug, and pressed his lips against her warm lips again. Maurecia had no idea what was going on, but... the tears in his eyes and the quiet ' _I missed you_ ' she heard him breathe into their kiss was enough for her to simply wrap her palm against the back of his head and pull him deeper into their loving embrace.


End file.
